Big Green Pull Away in Second Half for 76-60 Victory

Wednesday, December 18

Hanover, N.H.

11:00 AM

Dartmouth College

7-5

Central Connecticut State

0-11

Central Conn. St.

Dartmouth

Aaryn Rai had his third career double-double while tying a career-high with 14 boards.

Photo by: Gil Talbot

Big Green Pull Away in Second Half for 76-60 Victory

12/18/2019 12:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Knight, Rai Lead Dartmouth Past Central Connecticut, 76-60

By: Rick Bender

HANOVER, N.H. — Aaryn Rai produced 14 points and 14 rebounds while Chris Knight had 18 points on a perfect 8-for-8 day from the floor as Dartmouth defeated visiting Central Connecticut State on Wednesday, 76-60. The Big Green improved to 7-5 overall and 3-0 at Leede Arena, while the Blue Devils (0-11) dropped their 11th straight game to start the season.

Rai finished the game 6-of-9 shooting with a 3-pointer while six of his 14 boards (tying a career high) came on the offensive end, helping Dartmouth have a 12-0 advantage in second-chance points. Not only did Knight have the most field goals without a miss by a Big Green player in 30 years, he also added three rebounds, three blocks, an assist and a steal.

"Aaryn brought terrific energy to the floor today and was very active on the glass, particularly on the offensive end," said head coach David McLaughlin after the game. "And Chris was able to impose himself in the post, even against a defense that did a good job of making us uncomfortable for much of the game. But being uncomfortable is a good experience, we just needed to make decisions a little more quickly on what we were going to do with the ball. I thought we did a better job of that as the game went on."

As a team, Dartmouth shot just below the 50 percent threshold at 28-of-57 (.491) while holding CCSU to just 23-of-60 field goals (.383). The Big Green also bested the Blue Devils on the boards, 45-34, and assisted on 19 of their 28 buckets, compared to just eight for the visitors.

Dartmouth took charge of the game out of the gate, taking an early 13-4 lead with Knight providing eight points. But CCSU gradually came back as the Big Green struggled to get in sync on offense, and the Blue Devils took advantage of the opportunity, outscoring the hosts, 19-11, over the next 10-plus minutes. Trey Tennyson, who came off the bench to score a dozen points, completed a three-point play with 2:11 left in the half to give CCSU a 23-22 lead.

The next time down the floor, however, Taurus Samuels converted the first of two free throws, and Rai rebounded his miss and popped a trifecta to put Dartmouth back on top for good. That started a nine-point run to end the half, capped by a James Foye triple, sending the Green into the locker room with a 31-23 advantage.

The lead was still eight points four and a half minutes into the second stanza when the Blue Devils scored 12 of the next 16 points — all on 3-pointers, two by Jamir Reed as part of his team-high 15 points — to knot the score at 45 with 12 minutes remaining.

The next five minutes belonged to the Big Green, though, as they embarked on a 17-2 run. Trevon Ary-Turner broke the deadlock with a trey and scored again with a layup on the break. A Reed bucket was sandwiched between Knight and Foye layups before Rai scored on a putback and completed the three-point play with the free throw to give Dartmouth a double-digit lead for the first time all day, 57-47.

Knight and Garrison Wade each added another layup before Foye capped the run by making the second of two foul shots. The difference did not drop below a dozen for the last seven minutes as Dartmouth cruised to the victory.

While the teams were close to equal in turnovers (Dartmouth 12, CCSU 11), the Big Green did a much better job of taking advantage of the miscues, scoring 16 points off of the turnovers, compared to eight for the Blue Devils. Dartmouth also had a huge advantage in the paint, 42-22.

The Big Green have one more game before the Christmas holiday, hosting Bryant (7-4) on Saturday at noon. The game will be televised on NESN and streamed live on ESPN+ with Bob Lipman and Dave Faucher on the call, while a free audio stream will also be available through with Brett Franklin calling the action.

Notes: The last player with at least eight field goals without a miss was Walter Palmer '90, who went 8-for-8 against Maine on Dec. 16, 1989 — almost exactly 30 years to the day … Rai's double-double was the third of his career and first this season … the game tipped off at 11 a.m. as part of School Day with nearly a thousand middle schoolers in attendance.